Dravid puts series win before sentiment

LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) India captain Rahul Dravid is putting a series win over England in the third and final test starting at The Oval tomorrow ahead of the probable farewell to English soil for himself and fellow senior players.

Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar (both 34), Saurav Ganguly (35) and leg-spinner Anil Kumble (36) are unlikely to play another test match in England.

India, who have not won a test series in England for 21 years, lead the series 1-0. England have not been beaten in a home series since 2001.

''I'm just thinking of focusing on playing a good test match,'' Dravid told reporters on Wednesday. ''I haven't thought about what it would mean (if we won) and that this is our last test match (in England).'' Dravid, a keen student of the game, made his test debut at Lord's on India's 1996 England tour, scoring 95 in his first innings. He also played at Kent in 2000.

''The wickets have generally been very good,'' Dravid said. ''The different wickets challenge you.

''I think it's still a country where you find that at test matches people come to watch, they genuinely enjoy the sport, they are very knowledgable about the sport. They are very supportive of both teams. People are friendly.

''I personally have felt very relaxed in England. Even when we are not playing we do come here on and off.

''A lot of these grounds are steeped in history, so many of them have seen some great cricketers. So for us to follow in those footsteps has been very special. It's just been a pleasure to play here.'' Dravid, who scored 217 against England at The Oval in 2002, said he expected a result with good weather forecast throughout the five days.

Ultimately, he wants a performance similar to the second test at Trent Bridge, when India won by seven wickets.

''We were really happy with the way we played at Trent Bridge, we did a lot of the basics well,'' Dravid said. ''I've challenged the team to repeat what they did.

''The challenge for our team is to back up a good performance with another good performance. It takes a lot to win test matches and it takes a lot more to win test series.'' REUTERS BJR RAI2121